Introducing: Selling the Future

Driverless cars as depicted in a 1957 ad for America’s Independent Electric Light and Power Companies

My career thus far has been defined by companies desperately trying to create a connection between what they have to sell and the people they want to buy it. In most cases, these products and services are evolutions, not revolutions, with good reason: it’s both easier to innovate in this way (improve what’s there!) as well as sell it into the market (same great taste, less filling). People love minor improvements: recall the delight of a zip slider on a bag of shredded cheese.

Minor improvements are the heartbeat of capitalism, innovation in bite-size form that keeps consumers feeling optimistic about where things are headed, without that sinking feeling that things are “moving too fast.” It’s such a welcome staple, both from the companies that produce it and the people who adore it, that enough has been written about the topic.

What I’m interested in are truly revolutionary ideas. How do businesses that had the vision and skill to innovate a full step change above the rest market this future to their customers? How do they introduce a use case that doesn’t exist, create a gap where there was none? How do they recast the modern day as “the past” just by the sheer introduction of their product? And how do they do this in a way that elicits enthusiasm, joy and optimism?

It’s my intention to explore the successes and failures of companies navigating this type of opportunity in Selling the Future.